Doing the math on health care legislation and the costs of care

“Gardner needs to do the math on health care and take a stand,” July 9 Diane Carman column.

Diane Carman should demonstrate more attention to mathematical detail. She points out that the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimates that 22 million more Americans will be uninsured if the Better Care Reconciliation Act is passed, but fails to mention that the federal deficit will be reduced by $321 billion.

Carman quotes Carrie Ann Lucas as saying some sort of single-payer system is inevitable and it’s the only way the math works. That’s a peculiarly sad indictment on our free-market system that gave us the best health care in the world.

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“Facts about Senate health care bill and CBO report,” July 9 letter to the editor.

Letter-writer Jimmy Sengenberger seems not to realize that eliminating the health care mandate is precisely the reason why his parents will have high premiums and high deductibles. The only way insurance can work reasonably is with a pool that combines low-cost with highcost members.

Trumpcare as presently designed will result in loss of many low-cost members with a resulting pool of mostly high-cost members. What does he expect for his parents but increases in premiums and deductibles? We had better come to grips with the fact that some total-coverage plan (like single-payer systems) is the only way the math will work — as Diane Carman makes clear in her essay on Sen. Cory Gardner.

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Despite their names, the Affordable Care Act, the American Health Care Act, and now the Better Care Reconciliation Act are really not about health care. They are all about insurance, which masks the charged costs of medical care. To solve the health care cost crisis, we need to understand the charges that medical providers submit. That’s usually shown on an insurer’s explanation of benefits, but they can be ignored by the insurance policy holder who doesn’t have to pay them. When one is admitted to a hospital emergency room or doctor’s office, the question is never “What will this cost?” but rather “What is the insurance company?”